FFIV Any Other Name
by ChroniclerOfInsanity
Summary: A short reflection on what it might have been like for Palom and Porom before they risked it all to free Cecil and the party from Cagnazzo's trap. WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT BEATEN THE DROWNED KING CAGNAZZO, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!


_I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time..._

- Lester Burnham, _**American Beauty**_

"The Walls!"

As the inner walls of the hallway began an agonizingly slow descent upon the hapless group, the adults began to shuffle around in a futile attempt to escape. The hefty airship engineer ran for one door, as the sage bolted for the other.

"It's barred!"

The words left Cid's mouth as readily as any curse.

"This one too!" Tellah cried out, yanking at the door with all his might.

In the midst of the panic stricken grown-ups, an eerie calm settled across the two young mages. Palom and Porom watched as Yang, Cid, Tellah, and Cecil split, futilely trying to stop the walls from closing in on them. The two traded glances, all manner of memories playing across their minds, though one specifically stuck out now more than ever.

_Palom, Porom,I have an announcement to make. I believe you are ready for more advanced training."_

_"Yes, Master," Porom bowed her head in respect to the mage._

_Palom's response was a little less... sedate._

_"Wow! Really?" The boy was on his feet in an instant. "We're really going to learn all those awesome spells now? I thought we'd never get to those! Am I going to get to roast someone with a fireball- no wait! I could turn them into an ice cube... Or wait, what about thunder..."_

_"Palom!" his sister hissed, appalled at his behavior. "Have some respect!"_

_"What, like it's a crime to be excited?" He fired back, thumbing his nose at her._

_"Enough."_

_Ire broken by the elder's soft yet firm voice, the two turned and bowed._

_"Yes, Master."_

_The elder's face softened, and he knelt to be at his young apprentice's levels to speak to them. "I can see already that you two have great talent," he said, putting a hand on each shoulder. "You will make fine mages, both of you.."_

_Both children beamed, eager to learn and happy to know of their master's pride._

_"But be warned," he said, looking each in the eyes. "Such power holds the responsibility to learn to use it correctly."_

_"What's so bad about a spell going screwy? Can't you just cast a counterspell and fix the problem?"_

_Porom turned a glare on her twin and was about to speak when a finger touched her lips._

_"Don't chastize him," the elder admonished gently. "He has a right to question. The reason, my boy, is because some spells, when used for specific reasons cannot be reversed so easily, if at all."_

_At this, the two children cast him an eye, confused by this. All their lives they had seen spells reversed by one thing or another. The entire Mysidian culture revolved around the knowledge of magic. The thought of an irreversible spell effect seemed to boggle their young minds._

_"I see that you do not yet understand." The mage smiled warmly at his apprentices. "Do not fear, you will eventually. This is why we learn."_

The thought of the spell being irreversable scared them both. Each twin could see fear in the other's eyes.. but.. This felt right. The elder had sent them to aid Cecil on his journey. He'd said that the light on Ordeals had accepted them. That this could be their destiny. They had to see it through, no matter what. The twins nodded carefully, resolve steeled. Their course had been set. Cecil, catching the movement out of the corner of his eye, turned to face them.

"Palom!" He exclaimed, confusion tinting his gaze. "Porom!"

The mischevious young black mage spoke first, turning an impish smile to the paladin. He couldn't let a good bye be sad.

"Cecil! We'll miss you!"

Porom nodded in agreement, a gentle smile crossing her own features. "It was almost like we'd gained an older brother."

Now Tellah had turned, and so had the others, the advancing walls forgotten for the moment. "What's gotten into you two?"

Porom stared at the wall, and for once, her emphatic nature came forth not toward her brother, but the situation.

"We won't let you all die like this!" she exclaimed.

She watched as her brother turned looking directly at the sage.

"Tellah," he said softly, grin suddenly turned serious, "look after Cecil for us."

The men exchanged confused glances, fearful of what the children had in mind. But it was too late to stop them.

Porom turned to face one wall. "Together now!" she cried, feeling the power course through her young body.

"Right!"

A blinding green glow filled the room as the two put all their might into what they considered their final spell.

"BREAK!"

When the light faded, the three men unshielded their eyes to find two stone statues. Only then did the realization sink in of what they'd done.

Cecil numbly approached them, stricken. This couldn't be happening..

"Palom... Porom..."

Tellah's expression was one of surprise. "They turned themselves to stone? Hold on

now..."

His face contorted then to a look of concentration, and all was silent for a few brief moments.

"Esuna!"

The wave of restorative magic swathed the two figures in light, but to no avail. Because they became stone of their own free will, the spell was rendered worthless. Grief consumed the three men, each in their own fashion. Tellah looked between the two. Now, not only had his beloved daughter been taken from him, he now felt the weight of two youths upon his conscience. Why had it been them?

"Fools," he spat, closing his eyes in frustration and anger. "If any had to die, it ought to have been me."

Yang likewise cast a gaze filled with shock and pain across the now stilled walls. These two had given their lives for them.

"They were... only children," he said simply, pain reflecting in his eyes as he tried to keep his voice from cracking.

Cid growled, clenching his fists, body trembling with unmitigated fury. "

I'll fire up the Enterprise!" he shouted, swinging at some unseen foe. "We'll 'venge 'em both!"

Cecil was the last to speak. A tear rolled silently down the paladin's cheek. Blinking back the rest, he steeled himself. This was no time to grieve. One thing was sure though.. this would not be overlooked. The enemy had committed the unforgivable...

As the three men stood fast, looking for a way to get out his voice rang out in the dead air of the hall echoing his thoughts.

"You will answer for this, Golbez!"


End file.
